Thursday, June 25, 2015

Military Demand for Aircraft

Rumpler Taube

Instantly recognizable by its sweptback, birdlike wing
tips, which warped for flight control, the Austrian Taube (“Dove”) had its
origins in the Etrich-Wels glider of 1907. Manufacture was initially licensed
to Rumpler, and the design is now generally associated with that company.
Although a pre-war design, its initial success as a reconnaissance machine on
the Western Front led to it being built by Albatross, Gotha, and D.F.W.

Although airships were added to the
resources of both navies and armies, aeroplanes generally proved themselves
more useful and reliable. They were also far cheaper to produce – a very
important consideration. It was only in Germany that zeppelin advocates held
their ground, diverting major resources away from aeroplane production.

Between 1911 and 1914, European military
establishments became major buyers of aeroplanes and the main influence on the
development of the air industry. Military competitions set manufacturers
targets to aim at, with lucrative contracts at stake. The lure of profits
brought substantial investment from the likes of German banker Hugo Stinnes,
arms manufacturer Gustav Krupps, and Russian industrialist Mikhail Shidlovski.
Some private firms experienced rapid growth. Henri Farman (see page 32) was
employing around 1,000 workers by 1914, and the Gnome aero-engine company
operated on a similar scale. Governments also set up their own establishments
to encourage aircraft development – notably Britain’s Royal Aircraft Factory at
Farnborough.

However, the situation in the United States
was strikingly different. America was not preparing for a major war. Its armed
forces were under no pressure to embrace cutting-edge technology, and its
politicians were reluctant to vote funds for military hardware. By the summer
of 1913, when the biggest European military air arms were already numbered in
hundreds, the US Army had 15 aeroplanes. Without substantial military
contracts, the American air industry stagnated. In 1914, only 168 Americans
were employed making aircraft.

Aircraft
Designs

The domination of European aviation by
military contracts brought a distinct change in priorities. Since they did not
yet take seriously the prospect of combat in the air, the armed forces demanded
sturdy, reliable aircraft that could be flown in most weather conditions by
average pilots and still carry a reasonable payload. Sporting pilots willingly
risked their lives in treacherous high-performance machines built for speed or
for stunting, but the military wanted stable aeroplanes that would survive
prolonged use and keep their newly trained pilots alive. Although light
monoplanes continued to be ordered for army use – for example, Taubes in
Germany and Morane-Saulniers in France – there was a strong prejudice in favour
of solid biplanes. A typical example was the two-seater B.E.2, designed by
Geoffrey de Havilland for the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1912.

The record-breakers for speed around
1912–13 were the light monoplanes produced by French manufacturers Nieuport,
Morane- Saulnier, and above all, Deperdussin, all of which made an attempt at
streamlining with a fully enclosed fuselage and engine cowling. In comparison,
a biplane such as the Farman Shorthorn, used for military training, was
described by a cynical trainee pilot as looking “like an assemblage of
birdcages”. But although the monoplanes were sleek and fast, their thin single
wing generated inadequate lift for carrying much weight. It was also
structurally frail, and was still braced by external wires attached to struts
on the fuselage. Their control systems also made these aircraft difficult to
handle.

At the time, a thin wing section was
considered obligatory by aeroplane designers. In fact, as aerodynamic research
would soon reveal, a thicker wing section provided improved lift, as well as a
stronger structure. In 1910 a German high-school professor, Hugo Junkers, took
out a patent for “an aeroplane consisting of one wing, which would house all
components, engines, crew, passengers, fuel, and framework”. This flying wing
was never built, but the idea led the way to the cantilever wing, requiring no
external struts or bracing wires, that Junkers would incorporate into aircraft
design during World War I. The cantilever wing would eventually make the
monoplane the aircraft of the future. But in 1913–14 the machine that
established a new benchmark for performance was a biplane, the Sopwith Tabloid
– the first British-designed aircraft to compete successfully for speed with
the French. The Tabloid pointed forward to the leading fighter-aircraft design
of World War I.

First
Bombing Raid

In the autumn of 1911, Italy declared war
with Turkey in a dispute over the territory now known as Libya, then part of
the decaying Turkish Empire. The Italian army possessed a number of foreign
aircraft – French Blériots, Farmans, and Nieuports, and German Taubes. An air
flotilla, initially comprising just nine aeroplanes and 11 pilots, was sent off
with the Italian force that embarked for the Libyan coast in North Africa. In
the short but brutal war that followed, the aeroplanes performed creditably,
carrying out reconnaissance missions, mapping areas of the desert, and dropping
propaganda leaflets promising a gold coin and sack of wheat to all those who
surrendered. On 1 November, Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti dropped four grenades
over the side of his Blériot on to a Turkish military encampment at the Taguira
oasis, in the first ever bombing raid by an aeroplane. Despite the fact that
they faced little opposition, the aviators were hailed as heroes by patriotic
Italians. Although the 1899 Hague Convention banned aerial bombing from
balloons, Italy argued that this ban could not be extended to aeroplanes.

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About Me

Mitch Williamson is a technical writer with an
interest in military and naval affairs. He has published articles in
Cross & Cockade International and Wartime magazines. He was
research associate for the Bio-history Cross in the Sky, a book about
Charles 'Moth' Eaton's career, in collaboration with the flier's son,
Dr Charles S. Eaton. He also assisted in picture research for John
Burton's Fortnight of Infamy.
Mitch is now publishing on the WWW various specialist websites combined
with custom website design work.